High-explosive shell



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

LOUIS GATIIMANN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HIGH-EXPLOSIVE SHELL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 569,192, dated October 13, 1896. Application filed April 16, 1896. Serial No. 587,765. (N 0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

lie it known that I, LOUIS GATHMANN, of Chicago, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Explosive Shells or Projectiles, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to enable the throwing of an explosive projectile having a minimum weight of shell and a large quantity of explosive material from any approved type of rifled gun without danger of premature explosion and with a relatively high muzzle ve locity. To attain these objects, I provide a projectile having a shell with an open or partially open base and fill the interior of the shell with explosive material, the body of the shell being of less diameter than the bore of the gun from which said projectile is to be fired, so that the expelling-gases may enter the base of the shell and also envelop it. At the front or head end portion of projectile, which portion is made heavy or massive, I provide what I term guide-bands, and between these bands I fit the usual type of compression-band, this compression-band taking the rifling in the gun and thereby giving the a projectile an axial spinning motion in the usual manner. To guide the projectile and insure perfect envelopment of the main body thereof by the propelling-gases, guiding-lugs are provided on the body of the shell in the rear of said guide and compression bands. The number and position of these lugs may of course be varied. I also provide a suitable detonating cartridge, conveniently located within the forward end portion of the projectile.

The projectile being open at its base the main body portion of its shell may be made very thin, as the pressure of the expellinggases on its exterior portion is counterbalanced by the interior pressure; but the detonator-case and the head portion of shell, that part on which there is not any external pressure, must necessarily be made of sufficient strength to withstand the full pressure of the powder charge.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown my invention, the main features of which I have previously outlined.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a gun of usual construction, the projectile being shown therein in elevation and the powder charge indicated. Figs. 2,3, and 4 are enlarged transverse sectional views of the gun and projectile on corresponding lines of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the projectile on a larger scale.

The shell or projectile of my invention is designed to be used with a gun having a powder and shell chamber of slightly greater diameter than the rifled bore of gun, and I have shown a gun thus constructed in Fig. 1.

The barrel of the gun is marked 6, and its breech is closed by breech block 7 in the usual manner. The gun, as will be seen, is rifled from the shell-chamber to the muzzle, which rifling is indicated by 8 and may be of any approved style, but is preferably of increasing twist toward the muzzle of gun.

The projectile has a eylindric shell 9,which is of a smaller diameter than the rifled portion of the gun for which the projectile is designed. At the front end of projectile, its shell is of increased thickness and forms a guide-band 10, which is of suitable diameter so as to fit snugly between the ribs or land portions of the rifled bore of the gun. A compression-bandll is securely fitted and held in a groove which is cut in the guide-band 10. This compression-band is of any approved construction and is adapted to impart an axial spinning motion to the projectile by engaging the rifling of the gun in the usual manner. The guiding-lugs 12 are projections on the cylindric shell 9, located in the rear of the guide-band, and keep the projectile centrally located within the gun, therebypermitting the propelling-gases to completely envelop the same.

In the rear end portion of the shell a metallic collar 13 is secured, leaving a central or axial opening 15 in the rear end of the shell, thus allowing the pi'opelling gases to act against the plunger 16, which in turn acts upon the contents of the shell, transmitting the pressure through the fluid body 17 outwardly upon the shell and equally throughout its length. A detonator-case 18 is secured, preferably, in the'head of the shell, as shown in Fig. 5. This case should be of suflicient strength to withstand the pressure of the propelling-gases.

The detonator or fuse may be of any ap proved construction. The priming charge of dry gun-cotton 19 is placed in the detonatorcase and thus protected from the heat generated by the propelling-gases, and also from undue pressure or shock.

The wet gun-cotton 20 is preferably packed in cartridges 21, which are hermetically sealed, thus insuring the stability of the explosive.

It will be observed that the shell of the projectile is open at its rear end or base, thus allowing the force of the propelling charge to exert itself on the plunger and through it upon the mass of Wet gun-cotton. At the same time the pressure caused by the explosion of the propelling charge envelops the greater portion of shell, thus counterbalancing the interior pressure and preventing the bulging of the shell and its jamming within the gun. The shell of the detonatorcase is of ample strength to withstand the full pressure of the expelling charge without fracture.

The liquid body inclosed between the interior of the shell of the projectile and the exterior of the cartridges containing the explosive material prevents heating of the cartridge-shells and also serves as a medium for equalizing the pressure from within and counterbalancing the pressure from without. The head or outward portion of shell must be made of increased thickness and strength, because at no time while the shell is Within the gun is there any external pressure effective upon that portion of the shell forward of the rear part of compression-band. As the head of the shell issues from the gun there will, of course, be a slight Waste of the force of the expelling charge, which Waste is due to the fact that the shell of the projectile to the rear of the compression-band is of less diameter than the rifled bore of gun, but while the head of shell is as yet within the gun there is not any leakage of gases, as the com pression-band,fittin g as it doesto the eontour of the gun-rifling, confines the full force of the propelling-gases within the gun, while the guiding-lugs insure the axial position of the shell.

It is obvious that modifications of my invention can be made. For example, the shell may be loaded in a different manner, the compression and guide bands may be otherwise constructed. By locating the band-guide at the front end of the shell instead of on the rear portion thereof, as heretofore where a single guide-band is used, and by employing guide-lugs with openings between them the expelling-gases may freely envelop the whole of the main body of the shell.

I claim 1. An explosive shell or projectile having its front end made massive and provided with an external compression-band of greater diameter than the main body of the shell and said body being relatively thinner or lighter than the front end, open at its base and providedwith peripheral guiding-lugs located in the rear of said compression-band, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. An explosiveshell or projectile having its front end constructed heavy or massive and its body portion thinner or lighter, said body being open at its base, a compressionband located on the front or massive portion of the shell and adapted to fit within the bore of the gun and to engage the rifled grooves thereof, and the body of the shell being provided in the rear of the compression-band with projections adapted to serve as guides to center the shell within the gun, substantially as described.

LOUIS GATHMANN.

Vitnesses E. L. HUBER, L. F. MCCREA. 

